Bassist Dougie Payne of Travis, who says it would suit him just fine to "talk about my band for two minutes and spend the rest of the time talking about the Beatles," joined host Kenneth Womack to do just that on the latest episode of "Everything Fab Four," a podcast co-produced by me and Womack (a music scholar who also writes about pop music for Salon) and distributed by Salon.
Scottish band Travis, originally named Glass Onion after the famous "White Album" song, was formed in 1990 and later took its name from a character in the movie "Paris, Texas." Payne learned to play bass and joined the band, also providing background vocals. Growing up, he says the Beatles were "always there," having had three older sisters who loved music and one who was a "Beatles obsessive." As he says, the Beatles' music "has a way of becoming part of your DNA."
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Once Travis got signed to a recording contract, Payne tells Womack, he used his first advance to buy a Hofner bass à la Paul McCartney – his first of several. Some highlights of Payne's career were being able to record a song at Abbey Road Studios in London with Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick, and also being invited to McCartney's launch party at the Studios for his 2006 "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" album, where McCartney treated the audience to several Beatles tunes as well. "Paul is music," says Payne. "He can't stop."
Travis recently embarked on a new tour in support of the 20th anniversary of their "The Invisible Band" album, featuring the hits "Side" and "Sing" (which experienced a widespread resurgence in popularity due to its use in a 2010 episode of "The Office"), and Payne recognizes the synergy of music and all it touches. "Music exists outside of everything. It's magic – real magic – and it just exists outside of time. It's powerful stuff."
As for what makes the Beatles' music especially powerful, Payne says "it just feels like they're having a good time. Peak creativity can only come from people truly being in sync. They seemed to make each other better…it's so special."
Listen to the entire conversation with Dougie Payne on "Everything Fab Four," including what he thinks is the "greatest record ever made" and why "everyone needs their own Mal Evans," and subscribe via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, or wherever you're listening.
"Everything Fab Four" is distributed by Salon. Host Kenneth Womack is the author of a two-volume biography on Beatles producer George Martin and the bestselling books "Solid State: The Story of Abbey Road and the End of the Beatles" and "John Lennon, 1980: The Last Days in the Life." His latest project is the authorized biography and archives of Beatles road manager Mal Evans, due out in 2023.
